Cross Examination of Police in Philadelphia

A Valuable DUI Defense Tactic

If you were arrested for DUI, it is important to hire a lawyer who understands the importance of an effective cross-examination during a DUI trial. At Parkinson, Tarpey Law, our Philadelphia DUI attorneys are former prosecutors who have valuable knowledge and insight into both sides of a case.

With over 40 years of collective trial experience, we are prepared trial attorneys who stand ready to pull out all of the stops in your DUI case, and this includes a full blown cross-examination of the arresting police officer. We have handled thousands of cases, and we have a full arsenal of DUI defenses.

Never Underestimate Cross-Examination of an Officer

As DUI lawyers, we cannot underestimate the value of cross-examination during a criminal trial. Never was this truer than in DUI cases where scientific and technical evidence is a central issue for the jury. That being said, prosecutors often feel uncomfortable during cross-examination and not because of lack of ability, but due to insufficient practice, focus, or preparation for this aspect of trial.

For a prosecutor to successfully prosecute a DUI case, they will need to present sufficient evidence to convict a defendant of the crime as charged through direct evidence. As Philadelphia criminal defense lawyers, it is our job to learn the techniques for cross-examining police officers and prosecution experts, in order to introduce reasonable doubt into the minds of the jury.

Knowledge of the Facts

With a DUI case, each detail in the arresting officer's statement is important in some way and may sway a jury. Knowledge of the facts about the incident itself, the conditions of the area at the time of the arrest, and the client are very important, thus it's important for criminal defense lawyers to never ask a question they don't already know the answer to and ask leading questions.

It is important to accentuate the positive from the start and to humanize the client. Everybody acts differently when stopped by police officers, which is why these facts need to be communicated through effective cross-examination.

During cross-examination our goal is to:

• Question the reliability of the officer's statements
• Introduce doubt into the minds' of the jury
• Accentuate the positive for our client; for example, point out what the client did right
• Search for any evidence of police officer misconduct
• Determine if the officer's testimony aligns with the dash cam footage
• Show that an officer's testimony may be highly subjective
• Point out that a client's rights were violated (where applicable)

Fight your DUI charges. Contact our office today!

If you were arrested for DUI, we urge you to contact our office to discuss the details of your case in a free case evaluation with one of our Philadelphia DUI attorneys. We have extensive trial experience cross-examining arresting police officers and we can use this experience to your advantage in court!